Viajeras: movilidad y escritura entre los siglos XIX y XX, Barcelona, İspanya, 18 Haziran 2021
LADY
MONTAGU’S EMBASSY TO CONSTANTINOPLE
AS VIEWED BY TURKISH SCHOLARS
Lady Mary Montagu's Embassy to Constantinople
is one of the first Western works to offer a realistic view of the 18th century
Turks through a female perspective. Written during her round trip and stay of
just over a year in the Ottoman Empire, in her letters Lady Montagu appears as
an inquisitive lady interested in discovering the true reality of the
"Other", something unusual until then. On the other hand, her status
as the wife of the British ambassador allowed her to access spaces that were
previously forbidden to male visitors. This article focuses on the view that
current Turkish scholars have of the Letters and their author, how they
value their comments and what kind of opinions the character and their
observations deserve.